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3. Papaw 

 Carica papaya 

 The green, unripe papaws may be cooked and eaten like 

 squash. The ripe papaws, generally considered one of the best 

 of all tropical fruits, are eaten raw. The juicy sweet flesh of the 

 mature papaw is yellow or light orange and resembles musk- 

 melons and cantaloupes. The trees are grown in abundance at 

 low and middle altitudes in tropical America. Papaws are also 

 often found growing wild, but the fruits of the wild plants are 

 small and of poor quality. The papaw is called papaya in most 

 Spanish-speaking countries, but this name should not be used 

 in Cuba where it is an obscene word. The Cuban name is 

 fruta bomba. 



